Jefferson Parkway land deal faces final vote with Boulder City Council

Preservation of property remains uncertain

A deer crosses railroad tracks on a piece of land known as "Section 16." The Boulder City Council will decide on Tuesday whether to work with Jefferson County officials to purchase and preserve the land near the intersection of Colo. 93 and Colo. 72.
(
MARTY CAIVANO
)

If you go

What: Boulder City Council meeting

When: 6 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Boulder Municipal Building, 1777 Broadway

A deal for the city of Boulder to drop its opposition to the planned Jefferson Parkway toll road -- in return for money toward the preservation of a square-mile piece of land in Jefferson County -- is set for a final decision by the Boulder City Council on Tuesday.

But the deal remains fraught with the potential for derailment.

Under the terms of the deal, Boulder would contribute $2 million from open space funds toward the purchase of "Section 16," a 640-acre parcel in Jefferson County owned by the Colorado State Land Board. Jefferson County would provide an addition $5.1 million toward the land purchase, and Boulder County would contribute $2 million.

Boulder and Jefferson county officials approved their ends of the three-way intergovernmental agreement last week.

Boulder would agree to drop its opposition to the Jefferson Parkway, a long-disputed toll road that would connect the Northwest Parkway to C-470. In return, Jeffco would agree to work in good faith to help make Section 16 part of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.

The property, near the intersection of Colo. 93 and Colo. 72, would provide a link between the wildlife refuge and the Rocky Mountains. Backers of the purchase hope it will mitigate the environmental impacts of the tollway and prevent sprawl north of the intersection toward Boulder.

The deal would not, however, cover the entire cost of purchasing the surface and mineral rights to Section 16.

The state land board wants $9.9 million for the surface rights to the property. Lafarge, a manufacturer of asphalt, concrete and other construction products, wants an additional $2 million to relinquish its lease on the mineral rights to Section 16.

Carl Castillo, Boulder's policy advisor, said the city is considering working with Lafarge to win the company $2.8 million in federal Natural Resource Damage Program funds, which it wants to buy out the mining leases on land just to the north of Section 16.

If the company doesn't get that money, it would likely inflate the price of the mineral rights for Section 16 -- or the company might not want to sell the rights at all.

It's also not yet clear where the rest of the money for the purchase would come from.

The city of Boulder has been successful in purchasing open space land surrounding the Rocky Flats Wildlife Refuge and stopping development from sprawling along the Colo. 93 corridor. Here's a look at the most recent proposed route of the Jefferson Parkway, as well as the surrounding open space.

But Castillo said he's optimistic about the chances of completing the complex negotiations that now involves three local governments, a global corporation, the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"We have five years to complete this," Castillo said, referring to the terms of the agreement with Jeffco.

He also praised what seems to be a softening relationship between Jeffco and Boulder officials, who have a long history of bickering over land-use issues.

"It is very much based on trust," he said of the potential agreement.

Boulder Councilman Matt Appelbaum said he can give the current set of Jeffco commissioners that trust, but he remains concerned about how future leaders might treat the agreement.

"We're being asked to permanently drop our opposition to something and bind future councils to that," he said. "I think that's something very difficult to do."

He said the Jefferson Parkway is a "multi-decade" issue, and that he's worried about the possibility of "crippling neglect" to Colo. 93 if the parkway is built.

"It seems pretty clear that the goal is to try and ensure that as many people as possible -- including Boulderites -- are ... encouraged to take the tollway instead of Highway 93," Appelbaum said. "We're still betting on a lot here, and we have a lot to lose in the future if things don't go right."

Lisa Morzel, the Boulder councilwoman who has been the key negotiator for the city on the Section 16 land deal, said she's not sure where the rest of the council will land on the issue.

"I think people are optimistic, but it's not done till it's done," she said. "You have to have the votes first."

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